


Take Another Drag

by OrdinaryVegan



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Fluff, Jealous!Andrew, M/M, Post-Canon, Tumblr Prompt, andrew is absolutely perfectly fine, here we have the rare specimen, mostly - Freeform, neil is amused
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2017-03-16
Packaged: 2018-10-06 08:27:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10330391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrdinaryVegan/pseuds/OrdinaryVegan
Summary: Andrew knows exactly who Travis is. Travis William Patterson, 27 years old, 6’3” backliner from middle of nowhere, Texas, current starter for the Boston Hurricanes, #9. As a matter of fact, Andrew is looking at him right now. ESPN is showing Exy highlights from last weekend, and Neil’s team just happens to be up at this very moment.The Neil on screen has just performed some ridiculous move that absolutely should not have ended with a goal but somehow did, and he is immediately met with high-fives from his teammates and an affectionate-looking hug from Travis. Andrew can most certainly be objective, and this exchange looks pretty platonic. But Andrew is also a man attracted to men, and he has to admit that Travis is good looking. Really good looking.-Neil seems to be spending a lot of time with his new friend, and Andrew is Not Jealous.





	

**Author's Note:**

> prompt by anon: Hi there :) I love your take on andreil and I wondered if you would write something about Andrew being jealous/possessive of Neil? I always read fics where it's Neil in this situation.. thank u!! :)

“Kevin called today just to say that he’s emailing me extra drills to add to my training regimen. Because apparently I’m getting slower? Whatever. I told him to fuck off, but like that’s ever worked before,” Neil concludes. Andrew makes a vague sound of agreement, but since they’re on the phone, Neil has a hard time judging just how uninterested Andrew really is. 

“Anyway,” Neil says, “I met up with Travis after practice to work on plays. He actually knows his shit, you know? He has this idea to keep Wilson back so that Singh can have better control of the line, and it’s genius. Singh is obviously superior when it comes to—”

“Travis?” Andrew interrupts him, suddenly sounding a good bit more attentive. 

“Yeah, Travis Patterson. The one from the University of Texas?” Neil waits for some kind of acknowledgement but continues anyway when he gets none. “He’s easily our best backliner, aggressive as hell but knows where to draw the line. And he’s smart too, like he actually thinks before he makes a move. Which is rare.” Neil rolls his eyes at the general state of talent in the Professional Exy League, even though Andrew can’t see him. If he could, he would probably just glare and call Neil a junkie, so maybe it’s for the best. “I think we’re meeting up again on Thursday to go over specifics, make sure everything will really click before I try to implement the switch at practice,” Neil says, almost to himself. He gets up from the couch and makes his way into his bedroom, opening the top drawer on his nightstand and reaching for the stack of orange sticky notes in the back corner. He jots down “Travis - Thursday @ 7:00” and heads to the kitchen to press it to the refrigerator until it holds. 

“What are you doing this weekend?” Andrew asks out of nowhere.

“I have a home game on Saturday afternoon, and then that charity event thing on Sunday…” Neil says, and it almost comes out as a question. Andrew knows this already. His team is off this weekend, but Neil’s schedule is so booked that they agreed it wasn’t worth the five hour plane ride. 

“I’m coming. I can be there Saturday morning. 9:35,” Andrew states.

“Uh,” Neil blanks a bit out of shock but decides not to question it. Like he would ever complain. “Okay, yeah. I’ll be there to pick you up.”

“Okay,” Andrew says, disinterested tone back in full force. 

“Hey, are you—” Neil begins, but Andrew has already hung up.

It isn’t abnormal for them to hang up without a proper goodbye, but there is usually at least a bit more ceremony to it. Neil shrugs to himself, chalking it up to Andrew being Andrew. 

\---

Andrew fucking hates flying.

This is news to no one. So this spontaneous five hour flight with only two days of mental preparation may seem ill-advised. And it is. Andrew knows that it is. But he hits “confirm” to book it anyway, cursing himself every step of the way. But he could only listen to Neil go on and on about _Travis_ for so long before he cracked. 

Andrew knows exactly who Travis is. Travis William Patterson, 27 years old, 6’3” backliner from middle of nowhere, Texas, current starter for the Boston Hurricanes, #9. As a matter of fact, Andrew is looking at him right now. ESPN is showing Exy highlights from last weekend, and Neil’s team just happens to be up at this very moment. 

The Neil on screen has just performed some ridiculous move that absolutely should not have ended with a goal but somehow did, and he is immediately met with high-fives from his teammates and an affectionate-looking hug from Travis. Andrew can most certainly be objective, and this exchange looks pretty platonic. But Andrew is also a man attracted to men, and he has to admit that Travis is good looking. Really good looking. He’s got that whole good ol’ boy, yes ma’am/no sir, homegrown Southern cowboy appeal. If you’re into that. Which Andrew definitely isn’t, and he doesn’t think Neil is either. 

Andrew knows that Neil isn’t the cheating type, but that doesn’t stop Andrew from feeling just a little possessive over him. He and Neil have been together for eight years now, so Andrew probably has nothing to worry about. And yet here he is, watching several hundred dollars drain from his bank account thanks to this impromptu flight. 

Saturday morning comes, and there is no reason why Andrew should be going through this security line at the airport at 3:30 AM, but he is. This is stupid. He also shouldn’t be planning ways to convey _back the hell off_ to Neil’s new friend, but he’s doing that as well. When they call for boarding an hour later and Andrew reluctantly shuffles onto the plane, he is still indecisive. One part of him wants to implement a very drawn out and highly creative scheme involving threats, knives, and a little blackmail. The other part just wants to walk up and punch the guy in the face. 

The woman who takes the seat beside Andrew looks like she’s about to ask him a question, so he side-eyes her until she finally looks away. He shouldn’t be expected to deal with ridiculous people when he’s trying to work out his ridiculous emotions. But if that’s true, then he probably shouldn’t be going to see the most ridiculous person he’s ever met. 

Andrew rolls his eyes at himself, at his thoughts, at the world. Then he shuts them and rests his head against the window, pen in hand, willing himself not to use it as a weapon. It’s only five hours. Highly insignificant in the grand scheme of time and history and whatever. He can survive.

He doesn’t sleep, but when the godforsaken plane finally lands, he is too keyed up to be tired. Everything is too loud and too close, and he just wants to get the hell out of here. He only brought a carry-on, so he bypasses the other passengers huddled around the baggage claim carousel. He is on the lookout for Neil and spots him on a bench near the exit (typical), so he begins making his way through the throngs of people. 

The moment Neil sees him, a huge grins takes over his face, and his eyes light up like Andrew is the greatest thing he’s ever seen, and honestly _fuck him_ for being so attractive. It really pisses Andrew off sometimes. 

“Hi,” Neil says when he reaches him, ridiculous smile still in place. He stands and holds out a hand. Andrew offers no reply but takes it nonetheless, allowing Neil to pull him in and place a kiss on his temple before leading him outside. 

Andrew keeps hold of Neil’s hand while they make their way to Neil’s Jeep. He keeps telling himself that he doesn’t have to prove anything, this is just a normal visit, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. But that doesn’t stop him from giving Neil’s hand a small squeeze before they part ways. This earns him a strange look from Neil, but Andrew ignores him and makes his way to the passenger’s side.

Neil slides in a few seconds later. Once they make it to Neil’s apartment, Andrew showers and feels mildly better for it. He leaves the bathroom and heads for the kitchen, hoping to scrounge up something edible from Neil’s shit show of a food supply. He rounds the corner, stifling a yawn. He still needs sleep, but there are more pressing matters on his mind. 

Like the sudden appearance of Travis Fucking Patterson in Neil’s living room. 

Andrew stands frozen in the hallway. He blinks. Blinks again. But Travis is still there, laughing at something Neil must have said. What the hell.

He considers locking himself in the bathroom, slowly disappearing back into the bedroom, anything to stop himself from pulling a knife on Neil’s new pal right here and now. He doubts that would go over very well with Neil. And the carpet is a light shade of tan, which would make the inevitable clean up too messy for Andrew’s taste. 

He is still frozen and indecisive when Neil spots him, smiling his stupid smile with his stupid eyes that are shining like the goddamn sun, _again._ Andrew hates him.

“Andrew,” Neil addresses him, turning away from Andrew’s next victim. “This is Travis, the one I was telling you about the other night.” Andrew gives no sign of acknowledgement or recognition, but Neil continues, not the least bit discouraged. “Travis, this is Andrew,” he says, swiping his arm out towards Andrew like he’s presenting a work of art.

Travis throws Andrew what can only be his most charming smile and greets him with, “Andrew! So _this_ is who I keep hearing about.” Andrew fully understands the sentiment. He makes no movement closer to the pair of them, but Travis doesn’t seem to take offense to this. He has already turned back to Neil, pointing to the piece of paper in his hand and asking Neil a question on one play or another. Andrew really doesn’t care. He forces his legs to continue their original journey into the kitchen. He will not allow himself to hover over Neil like a guard dog. Neil can spend his time with whoever he likes. It’s a non-issue, really. 

From his kitchen hideout, he hears the front door open and close, indicating that Tall, Dark, and Way Too Damn Close To Neil must have taken his leave. He busies himself with digging through the refrigerator when he hears Neil’s footsteps bring him into the room. 

“We can order something if you want,” Neil says. 

Andrew shrugs and flicks his eyes over to him, taking in his relaxed stance and carefree demeanor. He doesn’t look like someone who just had their current partner and secret lover in the same room. Andrew decides that he can play this completely cool. No need for an interrogation, there is clearly nothing going on.

“So does he come here a lot?”

Shit. Did he say that out loud? _Shit._

Neil is unfazed. “Every once in awhile. To go over plays and stuff,” Neil says. 

Andrew hums to show he’s listening. He has moved from the refrigerator and is now ransacking a cabinet, using this as an excuse to keep his eyes away from Neil’s. 

Neil continues. “Yeah, we usually can’t go to his place. His wife is a nurse and works crazy hours, so it’s just easier to meet here in case she’s at home trying to sleep.”

Wife. Andrew has frozen for the second time in less than twenty minutes. 

Andrew finally looks at Neil, who cocks his head to the side in an almost comical expression of his confusion.

“Are you okay?” Neil asks. “You’re acting kind of weird.”

Neil looks like he is about to take a step in Andrew’s direction, but Andrew slams the cabinet door shut and turns to face him. 

“Yes or no?”

Neil stops walking and his puzzled expression intensifies. “Yes…”

Andrew pushes quickly away from the counter and crosses to Neil in three strides, hands coming up to grasp Neil’s face. He fits their lips together with a little too much force, but Andrew can’t make himself care. He walks Neil back until he hits the wall and lets out a small noise of surprise. “Andrew, what—” he starts to ask, but Andrew has migrated to Neil’s neck and successfully distracts him. Neil’s hands make their way into Andrew’s hair, and Andrew barely contains the sigh of relief on the tip of his tongue. A tongue that is currently finding its way back into Neil’s mouth.

“Holy shit,” Neil says out of nowhere. “Are you _jealous_?”

Andrew ignores him. His hands are moving down to grasp the hem of Neil’s shirt.

Neil lets out an incredulous laugh. “Oh my god. You are. You’re jealous.”

Andrew digs his nails into Neil’s hip, attempting to shut him up. 

“Of Travis? Really?” Neil keeps talking, which is the opposite of what Andrew wants him to do right now.

“Shut. The fuck. Up,” Andrew breathes against his mouth, looking into his stupidly blue eyes and willing him to listen, just this once.

Neil laughs again, his head falling back to hit the wall behind him. He removes his right hand from Andrew’s hair and uses it to cover his face, a poor attempt at concealing his hysterics. Andrew growls at him and rips his hand away, leaning in to crash their mouths together again. 

“Shut up,” Andrew says, a little breathless but trying to sound like he isn’t. He looks up at Neil, still laughing and gazing at Andrew with a combination of disbelief and fondness. Andrew narrows his eyes.

“Take off your fucking clothes, Neil,” Andrew says as he extracts himself from Neil and walks away. Neil’s laughter follows him into the bedroom, along with the shirt he throws at the back of Andrew’s head. He’ll pay for that later, but right now it’s all Andrew can do to breathe around his all-consuming relief.

Ridiculous thing, jealousy. Andrew only has time for one ridiculous thing in his life, and it is currently making its way toward him. Shirtless. Andrew likes this one much better.

**Author's Note:**

> as always, thank you thank you for reading! i very much appreciate each of you lovely ethereal beings.
> 
> title from Lana Del Rey's "Diet Mountain Dew".
> 
> come scream with me on tumblr @theordinaryvegan


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